Gear-shifting mechanism



d 2 ATTORNEY v 1. E. WEBSTER. GEAR SH| FTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, I914- RENEWED OCT. 14,1918- v v Patented Dec. 28, 1920.;

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- J. 'E. WEBSTER.

GEAR SHIFTING MECHANISNL. AVPPLICATION FILED MAY 25. 1914 RENEWED-OCT. I4. 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- us/ m A/ R 62 5/ J3 J3 1 57i J73 i ATTORNEY 1 O, Patented Dec. 28, 192E JOHN nwnnsrna, or PITTSB RGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC nn MANUFACTURING COMPANY, a COBPORATIQN or PENNSYLVANIA.

onan snirrine MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lDec. 2e, ioeo.

Application filed May 25, 1914, Serial No. 840,655. Renewed October 14, 1918. Serial No. 258,105.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. WEBSTER, a.

citizenof the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gear-Shift ingMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gear-shifting mechanisms for automobiles or other motor vehicles, and it has particular reference to such mechanisms as are actuated by the usual clutch pedal and are controlled by tively'prevent the shifting ofany of thetransmission gear wheels to an operative po sition when the sele'ctlve mechanism is adjusted for the neutral position of the transmission-mechanism A number, of devices of the same general character as that of my invention have hitherto been proposed but a serious disadvantage possessed by many of them is the other causes.

necessity for intermediate mechanism to connect them to the transmission mecha nism. A'fu'rther disadvantage possessed by many of such devices is that, Whenthe selective mechanism is adjusted for the neutral position of the transmission mechanism, the actuating mechanism does not engage the shifted members when the several gear wheels have been brought to the neutral position and, consequently, they are not positively prevented from movement beyond the neutral position because of their inertia or I provide a shifting mechanism which may be located upon the casing or housing of the transmission mechanism and which may be directly connected to the shiftable gear wheels without theemployment of auxiliary connecting devices. If th-e selective mechanism 18 adyusted for the neutralposiarelocked in that'position when the actuatlng'mechanism has operated to bring any gear Wheel that may have been shifted, to

such position.

'My invention may be best understood when described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a view, partially in plan and partially in section, of a portion of an automobile with my invention attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the transmission mechanism of an automobile and its related parts. Fig. 3 1s a view, partially in plan and partially in seption, of the gear shifting mechanism; F 1g. 4: is a view, in longitudinal section, of the mechanism shown in F ig. 3. Fig. 5 is a View, in transverse section, on line V-V of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a view, partially. in elevation and partially in section, of certain details. Fig. 7 is a view, in section, on line 'VIIVI1 of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is an end View,

in elevation, of the gear-shifting mechanism. F ig.' 9 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuits employed in connection with my invention and of the mechanism for controlling a set of push buttons thatqcon trol the circuits.

Referring particularly to Figs. l and.2, an automobile chassis 1, only a portion'of which is shown, is provided with a gas engine 2 having a fly wheel 3. A transmission" mechanism or change-speed gear mechanism 4. is connected to thelenginei by a shaft 5 and a, conical clutch member 6 that is slidably mounted on the shaft 5 to coact with a correspondingly shaped clutch member 7 formed in the fly wheel 3. The clutch memher 6 is provided with an integral grooved collar 8 to be engaged by a yoke member 9' that has a pivotal support upon a bracket v1 0. A pedal lever 11, that is adapted tabs operated by the foot of the operator, has a pivotal support upon a lug 12 andiis'connectecl by a link 13 to the yoke member 9.

A springlt, that is attached at one end to a suitable s t atio'nary,part, normallylretains the clutch pedal lever ll in its rearward p'o-' sition, with the clutch memberb engaging the clutch member 7 in the fly wheel 3. A link 15 connectsthe pedal leverll to a lever arm 16 of a gear-shifting mechanism 17 that is mounted upon the casing 18 of the transmission mechanism. tion of the shiftable gear wheels, the latter The transmission 'mechanism 4: forms no part of my invention but is so combined therewith that a description. thereof is deextends into the transmission casing 18 through an end wall 19 and has a bearing therein. A gear wheel 20, having two-sets 25 within the gear wheel 20. The shaft 23 is adapted to be connected to the shaft at different speed ratios by means of two gear .wheels 26 and 27 that are slidably keyed upon the shaft'23,'gear wheels 28, 29, BOand 31, that are fixed upon-a counter shaft 32,

. wheel 30. For the third, or high, speed, the gear wheel 27 is shifted to the right untilinternal gear teeth'38, with which the gear wheel 27 is provided, mesh with the gear-.

and an .idler gear wheel 33' that isin mesh with the gear wheel 28.

. The gear wheel 31 is always in mesh with the.gear-teeth-22 to establish a fixed speed ratio between the shafts 5 and 32. The mechanism is arranged to provide three speeds in the forward and one in the re verse direction. The changes in speed ratio are controlled by the slidable gear wheels 26 and 27 which are respectively provided with integral grooved collars 34 and 35 to be engaged by yoke members 36 and 37.

The yoke members 36 and 37 are controlled by the gear-shifting mechanism, as will-be later described.

When the gearwheel 26 is in mesh with the gear wheel 29, the mechanism is in its first or-low-speed position and the shaft 5 isconnected'through the. gear teeth 22, gear... wheel 31, counter shaft 32 and gear wheels 29 and 26 to the transmission shaft 23. For the second, or-. intermediate speed, the gear wheel 27 is shifted into mesh with thegear teeth 21. The shaft 5 is then directly conlatter is driven atiengine speed. For dl'iV.

ing in the reverse direction, the gearwheel v '26 is shifted into mesh Qwith the idler gear' wheel 33, which is always in mesh with the gear wheel 28. The transmission mechanism is illustrated in its neutral or inopera tive position in Which the shaft 23 is not connected to'the counter shaft 32. Referi'in'g now to Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive,

."the vgearshi-fting. mechanism comprises a g .trol, by 3rd, 2nd, 1st,..N (neutral) and R "housing or casing 39 and two shift rods 40 and 41 which have a slidablebearing in the ,endwalls of the casing and upon whiclifjthe yoke members 36' and '37 are respectivelymounted. Two block members 42, which are slidably'mou'ntedup'on the shift rods 40 and;v

4 1,i are connected by links 43to lever arms 44 that"are carried by-rock shafts 45. The rock shafts 45, one ofwhich carries the lever arm 16, are operativelyjconnected by gear segments 46. actuation of the pedal lever 11 beyond-its clutch-disengaging posi- 7 tion operates, through the connected mechanism just described, to actuate the blocks 42 in opposite directions simultaneously.

Each of the shift rods 40 and 41 is vided with a longitudinal groove 47.

our

engaging the respective shift rods 40 and 41. Each of'the dogs 48 .is provided, at itsopposite end, i with a horizontally. extending portion 50. Normally, the dogs 48 are/re tained, by springs 69', in the positions shown in Fig. 4, with the hook portions 49 resting upon the bottoms of the grooves .47.

- Four electromagnets '51, 52, 53 and 54 are respectively mounted upon the exterior of. the sidewalls of the casing 39 and adjacent 1 to the corners of ,it. Each electromagnet comprises a movable 'coremember 55 that projects into the casing 39 and is normally held in its extended position in the path of movement of the corresponding dog 48, by a 7 spring 56. When thewindings of the several magnets are energized, the core ;members are withdrawn from the path of movement of the dogs 48. T

.Referring particularly to Fig. 7, andin' 'cidenta'lly to Figs. 3 and 4,.each of four selfclosing limit switches 57 ,'that are mounted upon an end wall of theca'sing 39, comprises a movable member 58 having'iapin 59 to project into a groove 60 in the shift rod 40 or the rod, 41, asthe case maybe. Each pin 59 is actuated to open its corresponding switch by an inclined portion the groove 60,-.when the shift rod has reachedthe limit of its endwise movement. The'grooves 60 are so arranged along the shift rods 40' and 41 that the circuit of the electromagnet that 'has been energized to cause the shifting of 1 I lone of therods 40 and 41, is always broken nected to the transmission shaft 23 and the bythe; corresponding limit switch, at the end" of the movement of the said rod, to

cause the meshing of the transmission gear wheels.

1 The electrical circuits for controlling the 'gear shlftlng mechanism are illustrated in Fig. '9. The electricaleonnections comprise fiveparallel circuits each-of which is controlled .by push buttons -61. The several push buttons 61- are respectively designated, according to the speed'ratica which they con- (reverse); The severalfpush buttons are-so interlocked that onlyone button can close its corresponding circuit at one time, andthis one remains closed untilit is releasedby the actuation of -another button. The

in selimit switches 57. The neutral button is arranged in series with each of the magnet coils and, consequently, when it is depressed, all of the magnets are energized to retract their respective core members.

The means employed to interlock they push buttons forms no part of my invention, but a brief description of the same is desirable in order to explain the operation of my invention. Each push button, except the neutral button, is provided with a notch 62 to be engaged by a spring-pressed slidable member 63 when the button has been suflt ciently depressed. The several push buttons are provided with lugs 64 that are wedgeshaped, at one end, for insertion between the ends of bars 65 that are slid-ably mounted The distance between the stationary members 66 is equal to the sum of the lengths of the several bars 65 and-the width of one of the lugs 64, thereby insuring that only one of the push buttons maybe depressed at one time. hen.

one of the buttons is depressed, the lug 64 is inserted between the ends of the corresponding bars 65, and the notch 62 is engaged by out of engagement, is then pressed forwardly the member 63 to lock it in its depressed position, with the corresponding contact memhers-67 en aged to close one of the parallel circuits. Vhen it is desired to close a sec- 0nd circuit, the corresponding button is depressed, and the member 63 is engaged by the inclined surface 68 and thereby shifted tothe left, as shown, to release the first button before the lug 64 of the second button has engaged the bars. 65.' The neutral button,

which is not provided with a groove, operates to release any other button which may have been locked in its depressed position.

It'may be assumed that the transmission gear mechanism is in its neutral position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and that the gear-shifting mechanism is in its correspondin' normal or neutral position, as shown in igs. .3 and 4. It may be assumed, also, that the engine has been started and that the en ine clutch members 6 and 7 are disengaged; t is desirable to start the vehicle on first speed,

and the push button designated by 1st is ac-.

cordingly pressed to close a circuit extending from the battery through the first speed button, coil of electromagnet 53 and limit switch 57 to the battery. The electromagnet 53 is en ergized to retract its core member 55. from the path of movement of the corresponding dog 48. The clutch pedal 11, which fat the tinie of starting the engine, is in such position that the; engine clutch members 6 and 7 are to actuate the link 15, with which it has a lost motion connection, for permitting the usual manipulation of the clutch without actuating the gear-shifting mechanism.

The lever arm 16 accordmgly operates through the rock shafts 45, gear segments 46,.

. dogs 48, with the exception of that one coacting with the] electromagnet 53, engage the corresponding stops constituted by the core members 55, and the dogs are rocked about their pivots to raise the hook portions 49 from the grooves 47. Further movement of the blocks causes the dog that is not rocked to engage the rod 40 and move it to the right (Figs. 3 and 4) to mesh the gear wheel 26 with the gear wheel 29.

lVhen the gear wheels 26 and 29' are fully meshed, the correspondinglimit switch will have been opened by the groove 60 and the pin 59 to break the circuit of the magnet 51. The horizontal portion 50 of the dog 48 prevents the core member 55 of the magnet 53 from "returning to its normal position until the dog has been removed from its path of movement. The operator then permits the spring 14 to retract the pedal lever 11. A spring 70, that is attachedto arms 71 on the shafts 45, operates to .return .the blocks 42 and the connected parts to theirrespective normal positions. The springs 69 draw the several dogs downwardly as soon as the hook portions 49 have passed the ends of, the

The engine clutch is still disgrooves 47. connected when the various parts are in their respective normal positions. Further return scribed.

The circuit controlled by the first-speed button will remain open until another button has been pressed and the gear wheels shifted 'fromthe first-speed position. The

'. limit switch 57 will remain open until the shift rod 40 has been returned to permit the end of the pin 58 to again rest upon the bot tom of the groove 60. it is impossible,

' therefore, toproduce any change in position of the shiftable "gear wheels before a button,

other than the first-speed button has been pressed; Any material movement of the clutch lever 11 beyond the clutch-disengagin'g position simply serves to pause all of the dogs to be rocked by the corresponding stops 55 and, as a result, no movement of the rods '40 and 41 can occur.

l/Vhen itis desired to,ehange the speed ra- 't-io, as, for example, to second speed, the buttonindicatedby 2ndmay be pressed at any time desired'in advance of the actual change.

The elec't'roniagne't52 will be energized to,

perform the same function as described in tonnection with the electromag 'net 51, when the first-speed button was closed. To effect change to the desired speed, the operator tat movement of the latter member will effect an en agement of these parts. The further actuation of the pedal lever 11, after the clutch I is disengaged, accordingly operates to shift the rod 41 to its neutral position, At this point, all of the dogs '48, exceptthat one controlled by the electromagnet 52, have 'engaged the corresponding stops 55 and arero cked out of engagement with the respec tive shift rods 40 and 41. But, since the.

electromagnet. 52 is energized to withdraw its core member 55, the coacting dog is still in opertive position, and the further movement of the clutch lever 11 causes the rod 41 toeybe shifted to the left, and the gear isishifted into mesh with the gear -"jwheel 30. The corresponding limit switch to assume their normal positions and then toeffect the engagement of the engine clutch,

57 is then-open and the electromagnet 52 is deenerg-izedp The return of the pedal lever 11 operates firstto permit the various parts whereupon the vehicle will be driven at second-speed. 1' v In the same manner, changes maybe made to third speed, or the direction of'drive rethat, in order to reverse the direction, of the vehicle, it is necessary to bring it to a before the clutch is engaged.

WVhen it is desired to return either of the shiftable gear wheels 26 and 27 to theneutral position, the neutral button is pressedto energize-the electromagnets 51, 52, 53 and. .54. v The clutch is disengaged as before, and the blocks 42 are shifted outwardly. The

shifted rod is in a position-t0 .beengaged immediately'by the appropriate dog 48 vto return it to its-neutral position. When the several dogsreach the ends of the grooves v 47, further movement is impossible, since;- all of the stop members 55 have been withdrawn from the path of movement ofthe dogs 48, and they tend to shift each of the rods in opposite directions. The rods 40 and; 41 are thus positively preventedfrom moving past the neutral position when the neutral button is depressed.

' In o'rder to prevent the shifting of oneof the rods 40 and '41Iwhen the otherrod'is out of its neutral position, an interlocking de- A's-shown in Fig. 7', the.

comprises apin orqrod- 72 andnotches'or recesses 7 3 in-the rods" 40- and 41; r-The pin72 isof such. a length that, when" one "of the; rods is; shifted, the pin is]: forced into thellnotchi i of the other rod,

vice is provided interlocking dev and the latter cannot beshifted until the t er 76.

I of the electromagnets. versed, by actuating the appropriate push buttons; It will, of course, be understood,

stop

predetermined conditions.

of segmental gear wheels having a lost-moshifted rod has returned to its neutral position. I

Each of the rods 40 and 41 is yieldingly held in itsneutral position by'an accentuatlever 76, which may bethat are respectively fixed on the rods 40 and 41, according to the position of the le- I The advantages of my invention are that it may be directly applied to the transmission mechanism of a motor' vehicle without the employment of intermediate mechanism. I

When it is desired to bring the mechanism to the neutral posi'tion,-it is positively prevented from being shifted into any other position by inadvertence or accident. The location of the electromagnets upon thee):- terior of the casing prevents oil thatmayenter the casing, from entering the structure I claim. as my invention:

' 1. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination with a 'shiftable member, of means selectively causing said actuating means to positively prevent the shiftable member from I moving beyond its neutral position, unde 2. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination with a shiftable member, of means for shifting said member in opposite direc tions from a neutral position, and means forselectively controlling said actuating .means, "said controlling means operating, when 'oneposition, to cause said actuating means-to positively prevent the actuation of Said m er beyond its neutral position. a

In a gear-shifting mechanism,'the combination with a' shift'ablemember', of means for actuating said memberin opposite directherewith,' a pair ofsegmental gear wheels connected to .said movable member, and 'a I pair of; elements connected to said gear Fheelsfl bination with a shiftablemember, of means for actuating said member, in opposite directions from a neutral position, said means comprising the usual clutch lever, a movable. member 'havmg a lost-motion connection 4. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the comtions, said means comprising a 1ever,'a pair tion connection therewith, a longitudinally movable member permanently operatively connected to said gear wheels, and means for controlling said actuating means.

5, In a gear-shifting mechanism,.the combination With a shiftable member, and means for actuating said member in opposite directions from a neutral position, of means for selectively controlling said actuating means to exert force upon said member in either of said directions or in both directions simultaneously.

6. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination With a shit'table member, and means for actuating said member in opposite directions from a neutral position, said means comprising a pair of members'slidable in opposite directions simultaneously, of means for selectively connecting either or both of said slidable members to said shiftable member.

7. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination with a shiftable member, and means for actuating said member in opposite directions, of means for selectively controlling said actuating means, said controlling means comprising devices for producing movement in either of said directions and a device tend ing to produce movement in both directions slmultaneously.

8. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination With a shiftable member, and means for actuating said member in opposite directions, of means for selectively controlling said actuating means, said controlling means comprising a pair of electrical circuits that are respectively energized to produce movement of said member in said directions, and means for energizing both of said circuits simultaneously. i

9. In agear-shifting mechanism, the combination with a shiftable member, and means for actuating said member in opposite directions, of means for selectively controlling said actuating means, said controlling means comprising a pair of push buttons corre- 11. Ina gearshifting mechanism, the combination with a shiftable member, of controlling means therefor comprising a manually operable member, a longitudinally movable member, and a pair of coacting gear Wheels for permanently operatively connecting said.

manually operable member to said longitudinally movable member.

12. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination with a shiftable member, of controllingmeans therefor comprising a longitudinally movable member, an actuating member,

and a pair of coacting gear Wheels permanently operatively connected to said actuating member and to said longitudinally movable member. I

13. In a gear-shifting mechanism, the combination With a shiftable member, of controlling means therefor comprising a longitudinally movable member, a pair of rotatable shafts permanently connected thereto and mounted in fixed bearings, and means for rotating said shafts in opposite directions simultaneously.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 19th day of May,

JOHN E. WEBSTER. Witnesses:

A. B. KAIGHIN, B. B. Hmns. 

